Guldan Family recognized as a 2024 ‘U of M Farm Family’

The Guldan family has been named Nicollet County’s 2024 Farm Family of the Year by University of Minnesota Extension.

Family pioneers homesteaded the Guldan Family Farm, located on the western edge of Nicollet County between Courtland and New Ulm, before Minnesota achieved statehood. It was one of the first recognized sesquicentennial farms in Nicollet County.

Since then, numerous crops and livestock, including sugar cane, wheat, corn, oats, soybeans, dairy and beef cattle, sheep, hogs and horses have had a place and time. Fruits and vegetables came to prominence on the farm in the 1980s when Denny and Janice Guldan looked for a way to stay viable during the farm crisis. What started as an experimental acre of strawberries next to 150 acres of corn and soybeans slowly shaped into 25 acres of fresh produce.

The couple’s children, Tim, Emily and Samantha, grew up attending farmers markets in Mankato, New Ulm, Hutchinson, and Glencoe.

In 2008, the Guldans began one of their area’s first CSA programs.

Janice sadly passed away from cancer in 2012, and Denny decided to retire from farm life in 2018, with Tim taking over operations.

The farm currently raises 25 acres of produce, roughly 150 varieties of 50 different fruits and vegetables. It has incorporated a small-scale direct-to-customer beef cattle operation into the business.

The Guldans attend farmers markets in New Ulm and Mankato and continue to offer Janice’s CSA program, while hiring roughly 15-20 youth from the community each summer to assist with picking.

Tim Guldan is the current owner/operator. His wife Brooke, is a registered OB nurse in New Ulm and helps with planting and markets as her schedule allows.

Their children, Blaine, Olivia and Maura, have their own roles on the farm. Blaine helps with the day-to-day operations outside of the school day and manages their stand at the New Ulm Farmers Market. Olivia and Maura eat their share of peas and melons while out in the fields collecting worms and bundling stems of foxtail.

Their shenanigans offer free entertainment to customers at farmers markets. Denny still helps with transplanting in the spring from time to time and will stop by the occasional market to visit with familiar customers.

The farm has participated in many University of Minnesota Extension projects involving soil quality, high tunnels, nutrient movement, pumpkins, cover crops, new varieties of brassicas, and produce profit-and-loss studies.

Tim currently serves as the vice president of the Mankato Farmers Market, on the board of directors for the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce, and on the steering committee for the New Ulm Farmers Market.

The families will be officially recognized in a ceremony Thursday, Aug. 8 at the annual Farmfest near Redwood Falls. Profiles of the 2024 honorees can be found on the University’s farm family website at extension.umn.edu/farm-families .

Honored families are chosen, one per county, by local University of Minnesota Extension committees based on their demonstrated commitment to their communities and to enhancing and supporting agriculture.

“These farm families are a major driver of Minnesota’s economy and the vitality of Minnesota’s rural communities,” said Bev Durgan, dean of the University of Minnesota Extension. “The University of Minnesota is proud to recognize these farm families for their contributions to agriculture and their communities.”

Along with Farmfest, University units sponsoring the recognition event include the University of Minnesota Extension, Minnesota Agricultural Experiment Station, the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Farmfest runs Aug. 6-8 at the Gilfillan Estate, near Redwood Falls. Event hours are from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $8 in advance or $10 at the gate, and those 17 and under are admitted free. More information on Farmfest is available at ideaggroup.com/farmfest .